1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an irrigation control system employing improved controller programming techniques. More particularly, the present invention pertains to an irrigation control system that allows programming and automatic re-programming of watering schedules used by the irrigation control system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Irrigation controllers generally fall into two broad categories: stand-alone systems and networked systems. In networked controllers, a central host computer, such as a personal computer (PC), is connected by wire or RF transmission on a local area network to a number of satellite irrigation controllers. This type of irrigation control system is common in large commercial or municipal irrigation systems and on golf courses. This permits the sophisticated processing power and display of a PC to be utilized to simplify and speed up the programming process. Furthermore, in networked systems each irrigation controller is programmed from a single location, and the program is simply transmitted to the individual irrigation controllers.
Stand-alone irrigation control systems are typically used in residences, and include a self-contained programmable irrigation controller connected to a plurality of irrigation valves and sprinkler units. The stand-alone irrigation controller is programmed by the user to initiate watering times at particular valve stations at certain times of the day. The length of the watering cycle or run time must be calculated by the operator and entered into the controller for each station. This may involve two or more start times per station per day. This process is often complicated by confusing and cumbersome controller keyboards, entry switches, and operational programs. Even the most sophisticated solid state irrigation controllers utilize several switches and indicators which often have multiple functions assigned to them. Consequently, the ease of programming of this kind of irrigation controller has been less than satisfactory for many consumers.
Furthermore, these types of stand-alone irrigation control systems must be reprogrammed every time a user wishes to change the watering routine. When irrigation requirements change during the course of a year, for example, when summer changes to fall, the user must input a new watering program into the controller. Alternatively, some of the more sophisticated irrigation controllers allow the user to reduce the amount of water delivered by a percentage, but do not allow the irrigation schedule itself to be changed without re-programming of the controller.
In order to be competitively priced, conventional stand-alone irrigation controllers have very limited processing power and display size. For example, the stand-alone typical irrigation controller will have a four bit microcontroller and a very small LCD display. The result is a data entry process that is somewhat cryptic. Some manufacturers have attempted to simplify this data entry process, for example, by putting rotary dials on the controllers. However, the rotary dial essentially limits the number of possible parameters a user can change at any one point in time. Other ways of simplifying the programming are to change the architecture of the data to be entered. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,444,611 and 5,097,861 both assigned to Hunter Industries, Inc. of San Marcos, Calif. However, even with these improvements, the user must still enter, at a minimum, a run time for each station and numerous start times and watering intervals for each station or each program. This can be a painstaking task for a homeowner. Furthermore, the homeowner will have to reprogram the unit during a change in season and also each time there is a power outage if the backup battery is dead or missing.
Another drawback with programming stand-alone irrigation controllers is experienced by contractors who install large numbers of these devices. For example, when such a contractor is installing controllers in a new community, the contractor's installer will enter a watering schedule which is likely to be identical for each home. That installer or someone else may have to come back and make seasonal adjustments to the schedule of these controllers. Since it likely takes 10-15 minutes to program or reprogram the controller, this task represents a significant amount of time and money for the contractor. Unfortunately, it would be impractical and expensive to connect each of these irrigation controllers to a central processor as in networked systems.